Like Fire
by Yueres De Leo
Summary: "I liked that song a lot! Can you sing it again for me?" He didn't know me. Yet he still did what he did. He was warm, you know? Just like the sun. Just like fire. Ace/OC
1. The girl that could sing

I know I'm working on other fics, but since I have some chapters written and given the fact that I have to wait until the manga reveals some information, I decided to give this a try.

This letter – Normal text.

_This letter – Thoughts, some important words, flash backs, maybe songs. _

**This letter – Really important things, so pay attention. **

**A/N: English is not my first language so please be patient with me. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, I just own my OC. **

* * *

_**We met at night. **_

_**I thought that he was a really strange man. **_

_**How could I not, really?**_

_**What he did and what he said at that moment… you could take him as a fool. **_

_**He didn't know me. **_

_**Yet he still did what he did. **_

_**He was warm, you know? Just like the sun.**_

**_Just like fire._**

"Damn brat! Come back here!"

"_Don't look back, don't look back- Don't you __**dare**__ to look back, Luka!_"

She realized that it was easier said than done, but keep saying that on her mind anyway.

Two bottles of rum were thrown from the window behind her, one crashing on top of a couple of boxes that were placed against the wall, soaking the wood, and the other on the ground by her side, soaking the floor and part of her boots, but she didn't look back and keep running with all her might until she reached the entrance of the alley. Turning around a corner, she almost crashed with a really tall man, but after a second she started to run again while ignoring the angry man she left behind, because that was the only thing she could actually do now, or at least the only thing that she had in mind when she jumped off the window of the one-story bar where they had kept her for a couple of years now. Getting away from that place was the only thing that was on her mind when _they _started to scream at her again, asking why _the hell _her presentation was not good enough; it was _never _good enough. And why? Because the people she was singing for were drunk men who didn't know how to keep their mouth shut when she was singing.

Maybe not having and actual plan was a bad idea.

But she kept running anyway, because it was too late for that.

She ran past other bars and past people she had never seen in her life- But what she had actually seen of that town? She had walked the port over two years ago when she was brought again, but only because she had come in a ship when she was sixteen from an island in East Blue, and that was it. She was never allowed outside the room, or outside the bar for that matter, because they said that she would only bring troubles, so she had no idea of where she was going. But it was okay, if she was getting away from _that _place, then it was absolutely okay with her. Her last owners had been particularly awful, even more than the ones that came before them, and they knew that she was scared of them, that was how they kept control over her- they thought it was _funny_. Before, she never received more than a couple of slaps and she had never been really beaten, but with them the story was different.

They were always mad- _always _drunk.

And they yelled because in their eyes the only thing she was good at was singing.

She had been singing since she could remember.

And she had been from place to place since she could remember as well.

What she could not remember in the slightest, was when it all started or from where she came from, where she was born- she couldn't remember not being a slave, nor her family or any friends, _if _she had them. She wondered if before all of that there was anything else, like someone who actually cared about her, or a place that she could call home. At least in her memory there was none of that, and she just _supposed _she was born on the East blue. Her name was something she had given herself when she was ten, even though she knew that no one bothered to call her by that name, at least no one had tried that far. But she wanted to have one anyway- she wanted to _be _someone, even if it was just an illusion she created to keep reality away.

She knew that if she was in that situation, it was because she wasn't wanted, but she tried to ignore it. She knew that if she was where she was, was because she had been abandoned, but she tried to ignore that as well. It was not like she pretended to live her life thinking about that at all times, it was enough having _them _recalling her that she was nothing more than an object, and she thought that it would be stupid anyway. Why to be sad for something or someone that she didn't even know? Something that she couldn't even remember?

It was not worth it.

So she kept running- for a really long time. At least until she got to a quitter part of the town, a place where she could see a couple of bars that even thought they had people inside, their doors were closed. She kept running for a couple of seconds after that, looking over her shoulder for the first time and kind of sighing in relieve when she didn't see anyone, so she turned in another corner, looking at the lamp that was hanging almost on top, flashing light every now and then.

The alley was pretty dark, but she didn't care, she just walked until her legs were pressed against a couple of boxes, and that was when she stopped running. She could hear own heartbeat in her ears, and she found herself on the need of taking quick short breaths- she didn't know how long she had been running, but she could tell that it had been a lot, and she couldn't even remember the last time she had done something like that. Maybe because she hadn't done something like that before, at least not that she could remember. Her back found the wall and slid against it until she was sitting on the floor, still taking quick breaths, pressing her hands against her chest, and that was when she realized that she was still holding the simple white dress in one hand, the one that she was insisted to use in what they called 'stage', because she was nowhere near presentable wearing the clothes that she normally used. Or more like the shirt she was using, because it only was a large bottom shirt that had seen better days and that at some point had been white; it was enough to reach her knees, and then she had the brown old boots that were close to destroyed, but it was enough to keep her feet warm. For how long, she didn't know.

In fact, right now she didn't know a lot of things.

She didn't know if they were following her.

She didn't know if they were not going to give up if that was the case.

She didn't even know what she was going to do.

"Are you okay?"

Luka was startled when the voice rang across the alley, quickly turning around to look at the person that had spoken, but then a sigh of relief escaped her lips because she was certain that it was not someone she knew, nor someone that worked for Kilo, one of his owners- his workers would most certainly not ask her such a question. She looked at the person once more, noticing that he was walking in her direction and before she could even start to stand to run once more, the person stood close enough to she could see his face. An orange hat was placed on top of his head, and even in the almost complete darkness she could say that his hair was black. The lamp hanging over her head flashed lit just for a couple seconds, but it was enough for both of them. Luka found that indeed his hair was black, and she could tell he was young, but not as much as her. Probably a year older, or maybe two.

"Hey! You were the one singing back there, right?" She supposed that with 'back there' he meant the bar almost an hour ago, guessing that it was someone that had listened to her, so she nodded slowly, nervously moving her eyes from side to side while trying to find something else to look at- she didn't know what she liked less, being around the people she knew, or being around people that she didn't know. But he seemed oblivious to the fact that she was trying to avoid his eyes, or more like she was trying to avoid him as a whole for that matter, inching away after a couple of seconds; she could hear the laughter of the drunk people in her mind and in her memory, screaming horrible things to her while she was singing, and she certainly didn't want to hear that again if she could help it "I liked that song a lot! Can you sing it again for me?"

She stopped the movement of her eyes and blinked a couple of times in a row.

Slowly, Luka looked up, trying to find any type of sarcasm in his face since she failed to find it in his voice. When she actually found none, the girl tilted her face to one side, analyzing the man that was standing a few feet away from where she sat- she had the feeling that she had seen him somewhere, and she was sure it was not from the bar. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, so she kept staring, hoping for the answer to pop in her head at some point. It seemed that he had misunderstood her gaze for another thing, because he scratched the back of his head with one hand as he took a step closer to her- She didn't flinch, but maybe just because she got to know that his eyes were black, but wasn't black suppose to look empty? Then why his eyes didn't look empty at all?

"Where are my manners? The name is Ace- Portgas D Ace" He grinned as he crouched, extending his hand for her to shake when they almost were at the same eye level. She looked at it for a moment before looking at his face again, confirming that the smile was still on its place. The ground was cold, but that man was warm- why was he so warm? Why he was smiling at her like that? No one ever did that, no one ever offered her hand to her, no one ever tried to actually speak with her like another human being. She looked at her own hand, wondering if she could do something like that- she had seen people doing it lots of times, but she wondered if it was more difficult than it looked. After a moment she slowly took his hand, immediately feeling how he started to move them up and down, apparently pleased by her actions "It's nice to meet you"

_Nice to meet you. _

She had heard that before as well, sometimes from the window of the room where she slept in- it was a greeting, or at least she thought so. No one had ever said it to her though, and it was kind of interesting, and shaking hands, she found out, was easier than it looked. Luka smiled sideways when she got her hand back, looking at her palm with curiosity growing in her eyes- he really was arm, like the soon, or like summer.

Indeed, it was kind of nice.

"That looks like it hurts, are you okay?"

Luka looked up, but she wasn't looking at her face so she followed his eyes until she found part of her leg slightly covered in blood. She could see little pieces of glass incrusted in her skin, and that was when she realized that they were from the bottle that had been thrown to her before- funny that she couldn't feel it, because it _did _look like it hurt. It probably was because of the adrenaline that was still running inside her body, and she really hoped it lasted, because she wasn't sure if she could keep running with the leg looking like that. She sighed a little, pressing the back of her head against the wall, closing her eyes for a second. She could feel his eyes on her, so she opened them just to look at him- he was looking at her arms, probably at the small bruises that were at the level of her cleavage. She wondered why he was still there, and probably the best thing was to ask him directly, but she didn't want to make him angry- in the past, each time she tried to speak with someone she got punished, so she learned that it was better to stay quiet and hope for the better.

It made her sick to the stomach.

The strange things was, he did open his mouth after a second, probably wanting to ask her something. But he was interrupted. There was screaming really near them and the sound boomed inside the ally as the two of them looked at the street at the same time. Luka almost groaned when she heard how they were obviously looking for someone, and by the type of language that they were using she wouldn't be surprised if they were Kilo's workers- they were fast, that she had to give them, because it hadn't been long since she had gone away.

"Damn it, they are really persistent, thought I lost them a couple of minutes ago" She looked at him, confused by his words, and he turned to look at her again "What? Are they looking for you as well?" The man- Ace looked at her with surprise written all over his face, probably wondering what she had done. Not that it was really difficult to explain, but she really didn't want to talk about that topic in that precise moment, so she just nodded, trying to figure out what the hell to do now while he looked at her with curiosity. She didn't want to go back, but it certainly was the only option she had of surviving- she didn't have money, nor belongings, and she knew practically nothing about how to take care of herself. She had to admit it; it looked like she was sentenced to keep leaving like a slave for the rest of her life. When she turned her head towards the street she could almost see their shadows now, and she was prepared to get up, at least by trying she wouldn't lose anything "Crap! Let's go!" But before she knew it he had grasped her wrist, pulling her to her feet before running out of the alley with all his might, still holding her and apparently having no intention of letting go.

Luka almost tripped with her one feet a couple of time because of the speed, looking at his hand and then looking at his back- at first she wondered how the cow boy hat didn't move from his head, but then the weight of the situation hit her on the face like a bucket of extremely cold water

"_…__What exactly am I supposed to do now?_"

That was an extremely good question.

* * *

**So this is the first chapter, if you want me to keep writing just leave a review. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Strange man

This letter – Normal text.

_This letter – Thoughts, some important words, flash backs, maybe songs. _

**This letter – Really important things, so pay attention. **

**A/N: English is not my first language so please be patient with me, and this is quite a long chapter so is most likely to find grammatical mistakes. **

**Recommendation: I'm used to recommend ost or songs when I write special chapters, and even thought this is not an special chapter I was listening to one song while writing and I really liked it so I thought I should share it with you: Holding on to Heaven, by Nickelback, really good song, hope you like it. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, I just own my OC. **

* * *

**_Reckless. _**

**_He was that, most of the time. _**

**_But you know you could trust him- _****I****_ knew I could trust him._**

**_It was strange, you? Because it was like you just _****knew****_ it. _**

**_That man was not going to abandon you. _**

**_He was never going to turn his back to you. _**

That man was _strange _

Luka got that as clear as water.

She looked at him as he went looking inside his backpack after running for almost ten minutes until they were inside a small house by the port. If you saw if from outside you would think it had been empty for many years- the wood was dark with humidity and it didn't really look like someone could actually live there. Apparently, the man- Ace- had found it and had stayed there for the night since he didn't really wanted to spend money in an inn. Or at least that was what he told her when they got in, panting, right after he ordered her to sit somewhere because of the wound in her leg, which, by the way, had started to hurt halfway.

She looked around again, helped by the small lamp that was in the corner of the room. She could hear the sound of the waves outside, and it had just been _so _long since she had smelled the salty air that she almost forgot how much she missed it. She could see the sea from the small window at the back of the bar since the place was on top of a hill, and that was kind of how she expended her free time, when she was not singing.

"You are lucky, I don't usually bring stuff like this but I found bandages in my backpack, and something that will help me get the glass out. Here, I'll treat that wound" Luka looked up again as Ace approached her with a bottle of what she assumed was water in one hand and white bandages, she could see a small metal tweezers as well, and she almost immediately knew that was going to hurt. She followed the small metal thing with her eyes while the man pushed a box with his feet until it was in front of her before sitting on top, leaving the things in his laps "I need you to takeout your boot and give me our feet"

Luka blinked for a few seconds, looking at her boot and slowly looking at him again, but he just sat there, waiting for Luka no do it. She slowly lifted her feet, grimacing at the slight pain when she did so, leaving the boot at the side of the box she was sitting on.

The water was cold and kind of nice after running for so long. The part that she didn't like at all started when held the tweezers in his hand, lifting her leg talon pressing her talon against his knee holding her leg down from behind so she wouldn't move, feeling her nervousness. He flashed her what she guessed was a reassuring smile before pulling the first piece of glass out, and she soon learned that it was better to look another way.

"Let's just hope this doesn't leave a scar" Ace commented, frowning a little "How did you even get this? Is not _that _deep, but it must hurt quite a bit, and it is in a strange place. Did you fell over broken glass or something? Now _that _must have been painful" Silence followed his words, and Luka realized that she it was her turn to say something to fill the silence. She opened her mouth, she was unsure of it so she closed it again, tilting her face to one side.

He wanted her to… talk.

Well, that was new.

A long minute of silence filled the room as stared at him, finding that if she did that the pain didn't seem to matter so much- the constant sound of glass falling to the ground was the only sound that could be heard, apart from the sound of the waves outside. He didn't speak again, so he was not waiting for her to answer anymore, probably tired of her silence. It was strange- _he _was strange.

He talked to her. He worried about her. He kind of dragged her with him. He was treating her wound.

And now he asked her questions.

He was _really _strange.

…. Or where those who had been her owners the strange ones?

She needed to find a new concept them.

Luka blinked, thinking about the new possibility. But it didn't seem right to just answer him. He had said that his name was Ace, right? Then she thought she knew what she proper thing was, she just hoped she was right. Plus, it would be the first time someone used her name- now _that _amused her.

"Luka"

"Eh?" He blinked at her, making Luka struggle a little.

"My name… is Luka"

She watched in silence as a bright smile appeared on his face, and she kind of wondered if it hurt to have such a big smile. She had never seen someone smile like that before, it was, as most things he did, interesting, and warm. He even got to the point where he let out an incredulous short laugh, still with the smile on its place.

"Oh, you _can _talk! That's _great_! I mean, you can _obviously _sing, but I thought that was it!"

"_Well, now __**that's**__ offensive"_

And a really stupid logic, but she didn't want to say that aloud either.

But she guessed she couldn't really blame him, she was the one that hadn't said anything. Well, she could blame him on the way she had been living for the past years of her life, so it was not _really _her fault. She had been always told to be quite.

"So, Luka, what's the story with you?" He asked, pulling another glass out of her skin, and he smiled apologetically when she gasped a little because of the slight pain, but brown eyes still looked at him with curiosity, trying to believe that someone was actually calling her by that name "Now that I know that you can talk I can ask you instead of just trying to guess" He chuckled for himself "You are trying to run away, that much I get, but I think that's not all of it"

"I'm a slave" That was an ugly word. An extremely ugly word, in her opinion. But it was the only thing that she knew could fit the description of her situation. That didn't mean she liked it, though, who in his right mind would? And the way Ace twitched his lips after hearing her told Luka that he didn't like it either, and his eyes went to the bruises again. It was the first time in her life that she felt self conscious, and she tried to avoid by covering the bruises with one hand, looking at her wounded leg instead of his eyes. After a second of silence he continued with his work, placing the last piece of glass aside, reaching the bandages with one hand "The owner of the bar I was singing in is my owner as well"

"Don't you have a family somewhere?" He said after a moment, without looking away from what he was doing. Luka noticed that he had a rather strange object in his wrist, something she had seen in all the ships she had been taken to- she recalled that it was used to know your way, and now his was pointing at somewhere at her left. Looking in that direction, she wondered for a second what kind of island it was.

"No" She answered, realizing that he was still expecting her to do so. She instantly looked at him, and found that he was already looking at her. The bandages were done and she felt a pressure in her leg. It still hurt, but not like before "Not that I can remember, at least" She added, tilting her face to one side, feeling kind of nervous because of the eye contact, something that she had never held with anyone before "I have always been a slave, or at least I think so, I can't really remember when it started. Came here two years ago"

"For someone in a situation like yours, you look and sound awfully calm" He murmured, but it was loud enough so she could hear him. Luka raised an eyebrow almost automatically, and he grimaced after a second, starching the back of his head with one hand "Sorry, I guess is not my business"

"You asked my name" The words were out of her mouth before she could help it. And it was strange, because you know, you would expect that after all the training she had keeping her thoughts to herself it would be easy to not say anything, but then again, that was not a normal situation. Ace was looking at her, obviously not understanding what she meant with that "You are not the first person I have spoken too, but you are the first that asked my name" She clarified, shrugging a little, still looking at him in the eye "No one has ever done that before, and it's… nice, so I feel like…. Yeah, it's nice" It was not much of a big explanation, but it was what she understood, and maybe she was not good at explaining it, but she meant her words, and hoped that he could catch what she meant with them.

She half expected him to snap- she wouldn't mind at all, since she was use to it. She was grateful for those good moments.

Maybe he was going to yell at her.

And then that smile would disappear.

But then, he laughed.

Not a sarcastic laugh.

Not a cruel laugh.

A real laugh.

It had been a really long time since she heard something like that, and she couldn't really remember it well. She thought it had something to do with a tall man, but she couldn't see his face. Instead, she focused on the man in front of her, who was just finishing laughing.

"Well, I'm glad I did"

The way he smiled after that popped in her mind the thing she had been looking for about an hour now. Her mouth opened slightly in surprise, making him look at her with curiosity.

"Fire Fist" The word kind of left her lips by their own, catching the man's attention "You are Fire Fist, aren't you?" He kind of smirked. Now, she has seen pirates before- hell, she had been taken from one place to another by pirates before and more than once, but none of them were like him, like, in the slightest "_I was right, he __**is **__strange_"

"You know me, I'm flattered"

"I knew I had seen you before" A smile plastered his face, and she really wondered if smiling so much hurt his face, but somehow she didn't think it was a good thing to ask- she actually thought that asking was not a good thing itself "I have heard people talking about you as well, lost of pirates in the bar, and your wanted poster, it had come a couple of times with the newspaper"

"Not as handsome as the original, I'm sure" He laughed, and she smiled a little. It was contagious actually, his humor, made her feel like she _needed _to be in a good mode around him "Okay, this is the last one. Hey, with all that glass and blood off, it doesn't seem such a big deal, maybe it won't even leave a scar" Luka looked surprised at her wound, first because she didn't notice when he had finished, and secondly because it was true, it was rather small. It still hurt though "And my friends told me I'm not good at this kind of things" He snorted with a smile, bandaging her leg. She stared at it, a little bit uncomfortable because of how tight it was, but it was okay "There you go, all ready and patch up"

Luka lifted her leg from his knee, moving it slightly towards her and into the ground, pressing down with her foot. She felt absolutely okay, so she looked at him with a small smile, noticing how he seemed to expecting her final answer.

"Thanks" She smiled mentally, glad to be able of expressing herself, even more when it was for thanking someone "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't appear" And she was being completely honest.

"Well, that's a gentleman's work, right?" She looked curiously at him, and because it wasn't the first time, Ace frowned for a second, wondering why she looked so curious at everything- it was not his place to really ask, but he couldn't help but wonder what kind of life she had had to be like that, not like there were much options when you are a slave, that he was sure. After a moment his expression changed to a small smile, noticing that she was tilting her face to one side, waiting for him to elaborate "To save the lovely damsel in distress" He laughed, standing and walking to the other side of the small house, were he had places his things "Say, if you don't mind having a pirate as companion, do you want me to hang around you for the night? Just to make sure they don't get you since I suppose you are not going back. My boat is at the port so is not a problem to leave it there for another day" Ace looked at her over his shoulder. "I guess you don't want that at all, and with that leg I don't recommend you to run, at least not now."

She immediately moved her head from side to side, looking rather childish, so much that he chuckled amused. Well, he guesses she did look childish with her almost too short black hair and big brown eyes, but that was… ehm, was adorable the word? He didn't really know so he just shrugged with a smile.

"Good answer"

* * *

"You can find a job in a bar on the other side of the city, I'm sure" He grinned at her, hanging his strange colored back pack in his right shoulder, a hand on his hip while she was trying to cover the sun off her eyes with one hand, looking at that side of the city "With that voice I'm pretty sure you can manage yourself"

"To keep singing…"

Food was not a problem, she had eaten in the morning with Ace just after she woke up, and she was sure that bread was enough for half day. Until then she could try and find something to do in the part of the city that he had pointed out, the part that was near the port- she realized that part was the one where they had been before, where they had meet. At some point she turned her head around, looking at him, and the way he was staring at her she realized she had said it aloud, but it was the truth; she had no keep singing, so she just shrugged for a moment.

"Thanks" They stayed silent for a second and Luka looked at his face. It was quite serious, like he was thinking of something, but was definitely looking at her. Luka tilted her face to one side, kind of uncomfortable "For everything" She elaborated, even though it sounded awkward, almost like she had said it out of the blue. Ace seemed to realize that and grinned a little, shaking his head.

"Nha, it was my pleasure" The breeze picked up a little, and she looked at her right. Both the sea and the sky were bright blue, and even thought it was kind of heat it was a good feeling, something that she had not felt in a really long time. Luka smiled a little; sometimes she liked to think that someday she would live besides the salty water, and maybe now she could actually do it "You like the sea, don't you?"

Now_ that_ was out of the blue, but she considered it anyway while looking at him again.

"How did you know?"

"The way you look at it gives you away" He shrugged, and that did nothing but confuse her more. If that was supposed to be an answer, it was a really poor one, and it looked like he realized it because seconds after that he scratched the back of his head with one hand "It's nothing, don't pay me any attention"

She nodded slightly, and there was silence again. He was still smiling, almost like he was waiting for something, so Luka lifted an eye brow while trying to guess what he was thinking. It didn't work, she had absolutely no idea.

"So" Luka tilted her face to one side "Now is when I'm supposed to say goodbye… right?"

"Nha" He shook his head, actually with an amused expression in his face, and she frowned a little while wondering what was so funny, but after a second when he spoke again her expression went to be a curious one again "Never say goodbye Luka, always say 'see ya' later'" He laughed again, turning around and starting walking, looking at her over his shoulder while waving a hand high over his face even though he was not far away yet "So, see ya' later!"

"See ya' later" Se waved back, slowly at first but then with a little more of energy, lifting her hand over her head. Even from there she could actually hear his laughter, and she smiled at that, remembering something while raising her voice, not really used to scream "Good luck with your mission!" She wondered if she could hear her. He was a strange man, a really strange man indeed- he had told her that he was in a solo mission, tracking some guy; he didn't told her the whole story but it was fair enough, besides, the look he had on his face was not pretty at all. She was happy to have meet someone like that at least once- she shook her head immediately, even he had said it, not all people were bad, she just needed to try and find the ones that were not like her owners. Now she was by her own.

That was actually the first time she had thought about it after last night, and it kind of built something inside her stomach that prickled and was rather uncomfortable. Maybe it was fear, maybe not, she couldn't really know, or more like she didn't _want_ to know. She didn't know why, but when she started walking, and after a couple of minutes, while she was going up the stairs of one of the multiples alleys that leaded to what she guessed was the 'main street', she thought that it was nice to not have said goodbye.

That 'see ya' later' was almost what the people called a 'promise'.

If it was a promise, then she was glad her first promise was such a nice one.

She was really glad.

It was kind of strange to walk in the white dress that she had brought with her outside the bar, but he said that she would make a good impression like that; he had even gotten water so she could wash her arms and face, saying that from now on she needed to take care of her more, and she remembered than when he said that Ace looked promptly at her bandages, practically scolding her with his eyes.

He was funny.

Luka stopped in her tracks.

"_Thinking too much about him_" Was she trying so scold herself? Because it didn't sound like that, it sounded more like her unconscious talking to her. She didn't know why, thought, because it was not a goodbye, it was a 'see ya' later', right? Then why the heel was she thinking about him?

"Hey, girlie, are you alright?"

She blinked a few times, somehow feeling the question was for her. Luka turned around her head, facing a grey haired man that stood in front of a door while holding a wooden box that looked kind of heavy, staring at her. It was not him that caught her with the guard down, it was more like the thing he asked- she _knew _them. She could almost feel something click on the back of her mind, accompanied with Ace's voice echoing in her ears.

_"__Are you okay?"_

A knot formed in her stomach almost immediately.

"Oh! I know you! You are the one that sings in the bar at the centre!" He had a surprised look on his face, openly staring at her. She nodded quietly, kind of feeling unable of doing anything else- well, she did grit her teeth when_ his _words echoed in her ears again.

_"__Hey! You were the one singing back there, right?"_

"You are quite the singer, aren't ya'?" He laughed, showing all his teeth. He was old, and didn't look at all like the people that usually went to see her, but she knew that alcohol could change anybody so she couldn't really be sure. He seemed friendly, though, kind of the grandparents that accompanied the small children in the streets, the ones that she had seen from her window "I heard ya' ran off last night, can't really blame ya', that man is a beast with his employees" Another laugh escaped his lips, and she nodded with a grimace since he was completely correct, but something was still brothering her constantly- she normally was good at leaving her mind blank, but now it seemed like she just couldn't do it.

It was probably because of _him_.

The street was starting to gain life. Luka could hear people talking nearby, and when she moved her head a little she could see kids running down the hill and up again, she could see women as well, some of them talking between them while carrying things on their arms- it seemed almost something too pacific, and she wondered why it didn't really impressed her. Now she could do almost whatever she wanted, but what she was going to want in a place like that? Sing?

"Tell ya' something. My son and I have a bar near here, it's quite far from that place, what about you sing there?"

That was her opportunity.

_"__I liked that song a lot! Can you sing it again for me?" _

"_Oh, __**screw this**_"

She started to run in the direction she had come.

Past people.

Past bars.

Past shops and past kids.

She kept running long after she heard the man calling after her, almost falling to the ground when she took a turn in a corner, but she got up anyway and practically jumped the steps of the stairs she had passed before. The sea breeze hit her face when she got to the old house, the one that didn't really look better under the sunlight, though it had some improvements- she could see the port from there, so she followed the way he had gone.

She exactly didn't have a plan.

Hell, she didn't even know what she was doing.

But since she had met him by acting with the moment, she decided to believe that nothing could go wrong then.

Luka panted slightly when she came to a stop, practically standing on top of the wooden part of the port, just a few meters away from the anchored merchant ships and small boats. There were few people at the port at that moment, but there was no one with the bright orange hat. She tried to find him, but he was not there. The reality was quite cruel; at least she realized that when she just stood there, staring at the empty space in the water even though she didn't know it his boat had been anchored there or not.

He was already gone.

"You run much faster than what I thought! I'm sure it's because you are a singer, that has to be of some help for your lungs, right?" Luka looked at both sides, but didn't find him anywhere. Her face was basically a puzzle while looking around, finally finding him on top of a small building behind her- he was crouched with a grin on his face and a hand on top of his hat, as if he feared it was going to fly away at any moment, and something about the way he looked at her told Luka that she was way too predictable, maybe too much for her own good "With that stamia it's going to be easier to train you, but that doesn't mean it's not going to be hard for you"

"You… You knew I was going to come?" They had known each other for less than a day, so why it seemed like he knew her more than how she knew herself?

"At least I hoped so, and you could say that I had a feeling" He jumped of the building, and Luka was so busy looking at his face to ask herself how the hell he could do that without hurting himself. Ace stood up like it was nothing, walking towards her with a smile on his face and a hand inside his pocket "You didn't seem particularly happy with what you were doing, and then I thought that maybe _you_ thought you had no option"

"… I don't have another option" It sounded stupid coming from her mouth, but she tried her best to ignore it.

"And yet, here you are" He grinned "You know, another thing that I realized was that yesterday night you didn't look half as scared as you looked this morning when you realized that I was going away, when you realized that the only different thing in your life was going away, so I figured what the problem was and how to solve it" For a second, his face became serious. But it was just a second before he smiled again "I'm going to make you strong, Luka, strong enough to face life without fear, strong enough to choose how you want to live, so until then, you are going to stay right where I can see you so I can make sure than you don't get yourself in any kind of trouble" You could say that with a face like that you couldn't take him serious at all, but he completely meant his words, down to the last one, Luka knew it almost by instinct "So I guess that I should make it formal" He extended one of his hand to her, with the same face from the night before, the same smile on his lips, and Luka couldn't help but wonder why he was so warm. Was it the smile? Maybe it was just his way of being, like a natural thing, something like breathing. It was nice. It was very nice "Would you like to come with me for a while?"

The answer was obvious.

But it would have been nice if Ace had mentioned that he was a Devil Fruit user.

It would have been really nice.

Preferably _before _they got inside his one man boat so she wouldn't have a heart attack when she saw how were before his feet were, now there was a quite dangerous looking amount of fire.

It would have been _really _nice.

* * *

So, if you like it, leave review and I'll continue!


	3. How to learn to love it

This letter – Normal text.

_This letter – Thoughts, some important words, flash backs, maybe songs. _

**This letter – Really important things, so pay attention. **

**A/N: English is not my first language so please be patient with me. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. **

* * *

**_He was kind as well, always putting other people first, even before himself. _**

**_You could say that he was stupid. _**

**_But he was funny in his own way. He would make you laugh without you noticing. _**

**_He was like that- he always was like that. _**

"If I ever get my ass kicked because of you, I'm going to get back yours!"

"I'll be looking forward to it!"

She was going hold him onto that for as much as necessary.

At that moment, laughing while running like his life depended on that, he looked like a true lunatic, not that he was far from being one in the first place. She knew she was not looking wonderful herself, running by his side while looking over her shoulder every now and then, confirming that they had almost completely left the marines behind, but at least she had de decency of _trying _to look like they were not in trouble and they were not running away from the government just because Ace had fallen asleep at the precise second they were passing in front of a group of marines while they were (already) running away from the man that noticed they had not paid for the food at the small bar they had taken their lunch. She didn't know how she managed to move him until he woke up, just in time to evade being captured- she was _not _going to get a bounty, and that was _final_.

"Stupid narcoleptic!"

"You know you love me!"

Sometimes she _really _hated his guts.

It had been a little more than a couple of weeks since she started to travel with Ace, and since the first Island they stopped at, Luka had the impression that she didn't even had the slightest idea who she was dealing with- not in bad sense, like Ace was going to hurt her or something, because he most definitely was not; sure, he acted like an idiot most of the time, but he was a good idiot. Anyway, she meant it because that was the fifth time in three days they had been running off somebody, and it was the third time in the same amount of days the marines had find them. Or more like _they_ had found the marines- but the point was that all those time it has been Ace's fault.

Because if you are a wanted man, you just _don't _fall sleep in front of the marines.

You don't light a fire in the middle of the night- in the middle of a beach.

And most certainly you do _not_ go around shirtless just to show the giant tattoo in your big- the Jolly Roger of the Whitebeards pirates.

Even knowing all of that and having suffered the consequences, Luka had to admit that there were more good things than bad things to remember in those past days- it was the first time she slept under the stars with nothing but a couple of blankets and Ace around, sometimes in some desert small island they came across when it was too late to keep going, and it certainly was the first time someone actually teach her how to eat without paying and taking clothes without people noticing. She kind of felt bad the first and only time she got her clothes that way, but Ace said that since he was the doing that actually did it, she didn't need to feel guilty; and besides, she _needed _that pair of pants since Ace's were too big for her, and since sizes didn't really matter for shirts, she used his anyway.

It was the first time she could actually walk on an island like another normal person as well, and Luka found that she liked it a lot.

They had been in a couple of towns in the last weeks, each one with their different weather- it was fun to play with the fallen leaves back at the autumn island, and they smelled kind of strange. Ace said they were going to reach a winter island soon, and she was more than excited, so much that he even said she looked like a brat. She had hit him in the head as hard as possible, and he kind of said that he regretted to have started to teach her how to fight- they both knew she was nowhere near strong and that it hadn't really hurt, but it was fun to pretend. They had been asking for clues as well, trying to find a lead to the person Ace was looking for. If she could remember correctly, he had said his name was Teach, aka Blackbeard- she didn't like at all the look on his face when she asked, so she just _knew _that she wasn't going to like the whole history. And she actually hated it, but at the same time Luka was scared since.

Ace was a good person. He was nice and warm and friendly and funny, everything she didn't know a person could be. So when he had that look in his face, when his mood changed completely, it scared to think for a moment that he could act like her owners had acted- then she felt stupid for _even _thinking that. She didn't know much about feelings, but she understood that he hated the guy, and he had said it himself; to hate one person doesn't mean you are going to hate the rest of the world as well. So Luka thought that it was okay, even if she didn't like it.

He dint seem much of a mature person now when she was the one that pulled his arm in a corner when they were far enough from the group of marines, ducking being the small mountain of wooden boxes that were pressed against the wall of the small alley, basically throwing him into a seating position while she looked over the boxes until she saw that the group had passes. Luka sighed heavily and with relieve, sliding her back down the wall until she was sitting beside her companion.

"Well, that was fun" Ace laughed after a second, pressing a hand on top of his hat; Luka had had absolutely clear that her idea of 'fun' was _far _from _his _idea of fun, and it was getting obvious by each passing day "Excellent exercise to digest food as well" He added with a smirk, standing up an offering her a hand in the process. They started to walk towards the main street again while the young woman tried to brush of the dust from her pants, what seemed kind of impossible.

"Maybe 'fun' is not the word I would use to describe it" Luka grimaced, looking at him sideways when the stood in an open space again, hoping that the people around them didn't notice that they were the ones the marines were looking for- _that _would not be pretty _at all _"I can't believe you are actually enjoying this" She mumbled, but it was loud enough for him to hear.

"And you should learn to like it, is not _that _hard, really" He pinched the bridge of her nose with a complete mocking tone of voice and expression "You need to stop worrying so much as well. I kind of preferred how you were before, ya' know? Quite and doing copying my very action like a little girl, you were adorable Luka"

"Well, too bad" She stuck out her tongue, and he grinned while releasing her nose. And it was his fault anyway; since Luka kept so much things on her head the first days, the man had kind of threaten her to push her into the sea if she didn't speak to him, and since then she was near to ask thousands of questions daily. It didn't seem to bother him though, and he smiled every time and looked for the best way of explain things, even when he didn't really know; then he would make jokes, and that was enough for Luka to laugh her head off. It was kind of frustrating when she wanted to stay mad at him.

But it was even more frustrating how he got to know her in matter of weeks.

Not that there was a lot to know, though, but it was still frustrating.

"Wait here for a minute, 'kay? I need to check something that way" He nodded towards the one side of the streets, handing her his bag with a blink, making his gesture look extremely natural- well, technically it _was _natural since for some reason she didn't understand he kept doing it every time he needed to go somewhere without her, not that it bothered Luka, she was just curios enough to think about it "You just walk around here for a while I'm back, it won't take long"

"Sure"

And he was off. Soon, Luka couldn't see him thanks to the crowd of people walking on the same street. She hanged the brag on her shoulders starting to walk herself, even when she didn't exactly knew where she was going, she just knew she had to keep moving in case there was something she could pick out of the conversations, anything that mentioned the name they were looking for. At every island they stopped at she had time like that, since he was always contacting people, but she didn't really mind- sure, it was better if she had someone to share with her the new things she saw, but Ace was busy right now.

But it was too hot for keep doing it, so Luka ended up looking around for somewhere too sit. She didn't like places too crowed and there was quite a number of people around her at that moment, but she could see spot a small wall covering the entrance of an abandoned alley, and after a few seconds she was climbing the wall until she was sitting on top, not that she was far from the ground now.

Luka closed her eyes, feeling the breeze brushing her face.

Sometimes, moments like that one when she waited for him somewhere, Luka asked herself if she should wonder what was going to happen after they found Blackbeard. Was she going to stay with him after that? He acted like they were going to be forever like that, but even she knew it was not true. Though he had talked lost of his 'Oyaji' and his 'brothers', about how they were amazing both as a crew and as a family, she didn't know if she could actually join them.

Luka realized after a few times of thinking about that kind of things that she didn't want to think about it at all if she could evade it- if he didn't bring it up, she thought, it was because he didn't want to talk about it either, or maybe it was because he didn't see the need of it. She trusted Ace.

She blinked a few times when she opened her eyes and noted that there was a shadow over her, but before Luka could even start to look up there was something over her head, covering her eyes for a moment. She took it off quickly, looking over at the person that was now sitting beside her; Ace was smiling, almost like he was waiting for her to do something, so she turned her eyes to the fabric that she now held in her hands. It was a piece of clothing, a blue one with big bottoms on some parts.

"What's this?"

"It's a coat" He said, sitting by her side, resting his palms against the edge they were sitting on, absently swinging one of his legs while looking at her face, obviously hoping for a good reaction.

"I know that" She stared at him for a moment before lifting the coat in with her hands, liking the color while he chuckle "I mean, what is this for? It seems kind of cozy"

"It _is_ meant to be cozy. Have you forgotten? We are going to a winter island. There is no way I'll let you walk in the snow with just that kind of clothes, you'll get a cold and _that _I don't know how to treat, been years since the last time at least" He laughed, and after a second he saw the expression that he had been hoping to see. Her eyes were basically shining when she remembered, and even from there he could actually feel her excitement. He had been joking before; she was still adorable. A grimace crossed his face when that thought came to his mind, trying to shake it off when she was not paying attention to him- he needed to focus on others things.

"Where did you say we were going next?" Luka looked at him again, swinging both of her legs, just like a little kid on a swing.

"Drum Island"

She opened her mouth to say something, her whole self practically glowing with the thought of snow, but it shut itself when the yelling came to her ears. They were not the only ones that turned to see what was happening, actually all the street did so; there was a man that was almost barely visible from where they were sitting, and he was yelling things like 'clothes' and 'stolen', which made the rest of the people start to speak in small groups. The two of them stared in silence the scene for a few moments, and she used that time to try not to panic again; maybe she was mistaken, maybe that man was not referring to his friend, maybe- now he was pointing and them, and the group of marines turned their heads all at once in their direction. And there was silence for a couple of seconds, neither of them moving their heads until she spoke.

"Ace"

"Yeah?"

"Should we start to run now?"

She did turn around in that moment, breathing as deeply and slowly as possible. As expected, he was already grinned while holding a hand out for her to take, looking so relaxed that she was tempted to think of it as a small thing, but the marines started to yell, obviously running at them. She quickly grabbed his hand, and he, of course, laughed.

"Yep, I think so"

She _still _didn't find it funny.

* * *

Ace had a little brother.

His name was Monkey D Luffy.

And Luka was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to forget that name in all her life time, because the man could talk about his e_xtraordinarily awesome _little brother for hours and hours _and hours_ without taking a single break. After the fourth hour the girl was positive that she knew more about Luffy than about herself- don't get her wrong, she thought he was a great kid, but it was starting to get kind of annoying. 

She saw how he handed the poster for too two man, a smile on his face. He had had it since he started to ask for his brother at every part they stopped since Drum, after they stayed at a village called Robelle for a couple of days, somehow knowing that they were near each other. If he Luffy was as troublemaker as his big brother she absolutely did not want to think about what was going to happen when they saw him- Luka sighed immediately, holding the small amount of snow in her hands, the only bit she could get from the ground since it was not snowing. She had been playing with it since they reached the island in other parts of Drum, and it had been as fun as she had imagined, and even more; sure, she had seen snow before, from her window and in some ships when she was to be delivered to another island, but she had never touched it before, let alone play with it.

She quickly discovered that Ice and Ace were not to be near each other, she kind of found out when he tried to teach her how to build a snowman and the snow almost immediately melted.

Luka had _never _laughed so hard in her life, and that was saying much with having Ace almost always with her.

"You ready?" She asken when he turned from the two mens, walking towards where she was standing.

"Yeah, I just hope he gets the message" Ace laughed, but then he kind of looked at her apologetically, noticing that she was still holding the snow in her hand "And I hope as well that you are tired of the snow"

"We are going now?" The sadness was clear in her face, kind of lowering her head- Ace could swear he could almost see two ears on top of her head going down, like she was some kind of scolded puppy while the girl left the snow in the ground again. He tried to smile comfortably.

"Yep, we have been here almost too long" He bowed his head while offering her his arm, but since she obviously didn't know what that type of cutesy he took it any way, placing her hand on his forearm while smirking when Luka looked at him curiously "Sad you liked it so much, because I'm pretty sure the next we are going to have never seen snow in its life" They started to walk towards the port, passing the people that were walking in the street. It was not as lively as the other places they had been, but it was nice, including the cold weather "Now we are off to Arabasta"

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Please leave review!


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